CASTRO: U-M poised for NCAA Tournament success at The Palace

That'd be Michigan backing into the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines were handed the No. 4 seed in the South Region after an early exit in the Big Ten Tournament and a disappointing finish to the regular season.

I've taken many a shot at Michigan's mental toughness and their inability to win on road through the course of its Big Ten schedule-- many of which were warranted and others, perhaps, a bit cruel-- but the Wolverines are in prime position to have themselves one sweet weekend.

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See what I did there? In other words, this team should be headed for the Sweet 16.

Playing just 39.3 miles (thanks Google Maps) from the comforts of Crisler Center at the Palace of Auburn Hills in its second and third-round matchups against South Dakota State and the winner of VCU-Akron, Michigan got a favorable draw to punch a ticket into the Tournament's second weekend.

Are the Wolverines capable of being picked off in their home state by a No. 13 or either a No. 5 or a No. 12? Absolutely.

But it's not going to happen. At least, it shouldn't.

For the last two weeks, all the buzz surrounding Michigan is that it's underachieved down the stretch and that they've been outmuscled and outworked by the best the Big Ten had to offer-- a conference the Wolverines themselves regard as the best in the nation.

Now, it's with an enormous chip on their shoulder, that the Wolverines are headed to the Palace to represent that very conference, with the only other representative in the region being 11th-seeded Minnesota.

Michigan will be the more talented of the teams in any of its potential opening-round matchup-- a trait that did little for the Wolverines a year ago. But if last year's NCAA Tournament failures and an underachieving finish to what was a championship-caliber start to the regular season doesn't leave them with something to prove, likely nothing will.

That makes them dangerous.

Their two biggest question marks during a stretch run in which they finished 6-6 over their last 12 games have been their physicality and mental toughness. I imagine you'll see a tuned-in, downright angry team come Thursday in Auburn Hills. Of course, playing the closest equivalent the tourney offers to a home game for a team that was nearly perfect on its own floor doesn't particularly hurt either.

But that's just icing on the cake...and yes, there's another "sweet" reference.

For the first time in over a month, Michigan has everything in its favor. The matchups-- notably no one from the Big Ten-- the location and the motivation all point to the Wolverines making a run at the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1994.

Despite the high rankings and all the individual accolades. Michigan enters the Tournament with more to prove than almost anyone in the field. The Wolverines have no choice but to prove it now.